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The Air Force has programmed four of its air defense radars
to closely monitor the southern border following the encroachment of at least
one Australian naval ship into Indonesian waters to turn back asylum seeker
boats.

'We are concentrating on four radars in Timika, Merauke,
Saumlaki and Buraen, which face Australia,'
Air Force chief spokesman Air Commodore Hadi Tjajanto told The Jakarta Post
over the phone on Wednesday.

'So if we notice any border violation, Makassar
will be ready. Australia
is reachable from there.'

Hadi was referring to the 11th squadron in the South Sulawesi provincial capital, which has 16
Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27/30 Flankers. The 11th squadron is based at Sultan
Hasanuddin Air Force Base.

The Flankers have a maximum range of some 3,000 kilometers
while the sea border lies some 1,000 km from Makassar.
With a speed of Mach 1, or the speed of sound, the Flankers would take a little
over one hour to reach the border.

When asked about the readiness at Iswahjudi AFB in Madiun,
East Java, which lies some 900 km southwest from Makassar,
Hadi sait it was 'still normal in Madiun'.

He added that no further border violations had been
detected.

Separately, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security
Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said that Australia,
under the administration of Prime Minister Tony Abbot, must acknowledge and
understand Indonesia's
sovereignty and should not violate it.

"Asylum seekers that have entered a country, including Australia, must
be managed according to the UN Convention," he asserted in a written
statement as reported by Antara news agency on Wednesday.

The country concerned, meanwhile, must also handle the
problem in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) or the International Organization of Migration (IOM), he added.

Djoko's office has strongly criticized the encroachment into
Indonesian territory by at least an Australia naval ship.